Tic-Tech: Unmanaged Switches

From: Rowlands, John (JRowlands@seattleschools.org)
Date: Mon Dec 18 2000 - 07:44:19 PST

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    --- TIC-TECH message:
    Wes Felty asked how new data jacks will be added during the LAN wiring.
    The BTA project is targeting the 5 to 1 ratio to match the computers that
    will be provided as part of this project. The typical school will have 8
    data jacks per classroom, but the live port count is based upon student
    population. The BTA team will look to the school for guidance as to where
    the live ports should be located. Thx. John Rowlands, Information
    Services. 252-0320
    JRowlands@seattleschools.org

    -----Original Message-----
    From: Wes Felty [mailto:wfelty@gte.net]
    Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2000 5:01 PM
    To: TIC-TECH@tic.ssd.k12.wa.us
    Subject: Tic-Tech: Unmanaged Switches

    --- TIC-TECH message:
    Some schools are getting a T3 line instead of even a T1 line. I wonder how
    that is decided?

    I can NOT believe that the district will be giving us ports to go with the
    eight data jacks per room. At Ingraham, that would be 480 jacks. That
    would be very expensive and largely wasteful.

    Does anyone out there have the answer and the willingness to share it. How
    many new data switch jacks will be added during the LAN wiring IF ANY? It
    would be nice if they at least gave us ports for the five to one ratio to
    match the computers. For Ingraham, that would be about 185. That's way
    less than eight jacks per room times the number of classrooms but way more
    than we have now.

    Even if the district does add data ports on switches in the MDF and IDF
    equalling the five to one ratio, they probably won't be in the correct
    places. In one of our buildings, there are 100 networked comuters in three
    rooms. That building has 24 ports from the WAN wiring and only one or two
    connections in each of the three rooms. Even adding eight ports in each of
    these rooms will make little difference. We need two 24 port switches in
    each of the three rooms, not more ports in the IDF.

    Also, I really agree with the new district standards relating to switches
    in one of the previous postings...One hub hop and good switches. But, what
    about legacy (old equipment)? Is IDF to HUB to Computer OK? IDF to Switch
    to Computer is great, but I don't have several thousand dollars to do it.
    I will install up to spec switches as I create new networks, but I have no
    budget for retrofitting former installs. And we have computers connected
    to the Internet in all classrooms except three (who don't want it) so that
    would be a lot of retrofitting.

    Does the district have a suggestion for Network Cards, NICs?

    Here is something that I checked out recently that should be of interest
    for people with legacy equipment. A new Cisco switch was installed in the
    library. This is a Cisco 2900 10/100 autoswitching switch. I connected up
    the old 133 MHz IBM computers to it. They had 10 MHz Network cards, so I
    replaced the NIC in one of them with a 100 MHz card to do side by side
    test. I wasn't surprised at the results. The computer with the 100 MHz
    card was no faster on the Internet than the ones that still had 20 MHz
    cards. The "rate determining step", as we say in Chemistry, is the 133 MHz
    speed of the computer itself, not the 10 MHz Network Card. I will update
    cards when I can for the future when I can replace the computers with
    faster ones.

    -Wes
    wfelty@gte.net

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